i am so confused about this! i am a 50 year old female. i weigh 150 and i am 5'2 tall. my cholesterol and lipids are slightly off. i have post meno and i have hashimoto thyroiditis and been on thyroid meds since 7 or 2000.

since july of 2000 i have had hypoglycemic symptoms when i dont eat every few hours. they are very severe yet my fasting is always high/normal when i am symptomatic.

a few years ago my fasting ranged in the 80's, then a year or so ago they ranged in the 90's and now lately in the upper 90's, 91, 97, 95, and now even more lately have been in the 105, 108, 101 range.

my dr. said it is not diabetes unless it goes OVER 125! i hear so many things that i dont know who to believe.

i've been exercising but i thinkover doing it as i am already burnt out on it. i've cut waaaaay back on my sweets, my biggest downfall chocolate/sweets/candy

when i was young my mom always told me not to eat so much candy or i would get sugar diabetes, maybe she was right as it does not run in my family that i know of!

ok....so does stress also increase glucose levels? does what i eat today affect my levels for fasting tomorrow???

i just dont know. and what about carbs? i read to eat alot of whole grain carbs, so i do, like a good honey oat chicken breast from subway, with only lettuce and tomato on it, is that bad for me?

i eat all baked food, very little fried food, sometimes i love french fries and a big and tasty from mcdonalds. once a week we have a pizza, but the rest of the time i think i eat well.

i do cardio daily, an hour at a time, sometimes another hour in the evening, and i do weight two day a week. i have some stubborn pounds that dont want to come off my tummy mainly and in about two months i am geting tummy tuck to remedy that!

the rest of it is so confusing. my dr. says one thing and others say other things. if i lose about 10 pounds my fasting levels will go down or so i am told. does highcholesterol affect glucose? i'm a mess with worry about this! does worrying affect glucose levels?

Anything over 100 is "pre diabetes" which means you're at risk for developing diabetes, but you don't have diabetes. Your doctor should've told you this!!!

SO, you're pre diabetic, not diabetic. You might actually benefit from some metformin because you seemingly eat well but your blood sugars are slowly creeping up. So next doc's visit I'd request to be put on some metformin and see what happens. You shouldn't get any lows on it because it doesn't change your insulin levels, it just makes your cells more receptive to insulin. I have a friend with PCOD who's not diabetic but very insulin resistant and she's on metformin and doesn't have any sugar lows.

Hang in there! I'm sure you'll be fine, but even if you DO end up with diabetes eventually it's not so bad! You'll end up with type II which is very managable. I have type I and it's trickier to control sometimes (you have to be very tight with diet/treatment) and I've had no major problems thus far because I take care of myself. It's not as bad as you think it is!

thank you sooo much for your kindness and kind word and words of encouragment! i tried not to freak out with all of this and i know you are right that it is not the end of the world! i've seen such bad things happen to people with diabetes and i dont want to go blind, or have sores that never heal or lose a foot,etc... i'm sorry for sounding so insensitive. i am learning how to eat even better via a program called the diabetic diet. i have not subscribed tothembut they offered some good tips on their website. i never understood all the card issues and now i do! they said no more then 35 grams of carbs at a meal, 15 protein and 8 fats. i am a carbaholic so that is hard for me. it seems to be the only thing that fils me up and keeps me that way for at least 4 hours, usually 3 but at times 4 and 4 is nice. so yesterday i did eat alot less carbs and this a.m. my fasting was only 94! i was so happy! it really encouraged me to do it again today and to keep on trying it. my biggest downfall is sweets though, ugggh. i see chocolate or pieces of candy and i want some tooooo!!!!! eeeek! i fight the flesh minute by minute to stay away from it but i wont deprive myself completely either. well again thanks so much for your help! you have absolutely given me hope! my dr. did tell me that 126 is considered diabetic. he is not worried about my numbers at all, he wont even doo an aic, or c peptide or nothing yet. it has to get to that stage first before he will, uggggh. thanks again!

Quote:

Originally Posted by catherine2282

Anything over 100 is "pre diabetes" which means you're at risk for developing diabetes, but you don't have diabetes. Your doctor should've told you this!!!

SO, you're pre diabetic, not diabetic. You might actually benefit from some metformin because you seemingly eat well but your blood sugars are slowly creeping up. So next doc's visit I'd request to be put on some metformin and see what happens. You shouldn't get any lows on it because it doesn't change your insulin levels, it just makes your cells more receptive to insulin. I have a friend with PCOD who's not diabetic but very insulin resistant and she's on metformin and doesn't have any sugar lows.

Hang in there! I'm sure you'll be fine, but even if you DO end up with diabetes eventually it's not so bad! You'll end up with type II which is very managable. I have type I and it's trickier to control sometimes (you have to be very tight with diet/treatment) and I've had no major problems thus far because I take care of myself. It's not as bad as you think it is!

Your chances of complications are pretty low if you keep your blood sugars under tight control. I maintain excellent control (blood sugars are always between 4-6 (canadian measures)) and have never had any signs of complications. My blood pressure is low (last measure was 109/70), my cholesterol is normal and my eyes have no signs of diabetes whatsoever. Plus, I'm not restricted from any foods. It's all about moderation! My nutritionist told me during my first visit after being diagnosed that there's nothing that's "off limits", it's just that, instead of a regular sized chocolate bar I should stick to a treat-sized (haloween sized) chocolate bar every once and a while. In fact, she's a nutritionist with one of the Canadian Diabetes Association's kids camps and they give the kids treat sized chocolate bars for snacks

Also, since you are in your 50s you have A LOT less time to live with diabetes than some out there (which statistically lowers your chance of developing complications if you keep good control) -- I was diagnosed in my teens (type 1 -- I'm 25 now) so I have a while to go yet, and I'm not worried one bit. It takes a while to figure out your own food balance/exercise balance, but once you do it becomes second nature. And, since you would end up with type 2 you can go on pills or even diet and exercise and may be able to avoid insulin (which is super scary for a lot of people, but it's not so bad; just a bit more of a structured routine).

In regards to the carbs, *I* have found that the more carbs I eat the more I want them. The 35 carb limit is sound advice -- just make sure you're eating quality carbs (grains and fibre -- which for every gram of fibre you can take a gram of carb away from your food's carb reading!) and not sugary things. As well, protein is known for being a "filler" and that eating a higher protein breakfast will help you stay full (and have a lesser affect on your blood sugars). I like to have a couple of eggs and some cheese and a couple of pieces of turkey sausage or bacon. I keeps me full until lunch and I don't overeat throughout the day. Just make sure you're testing two hours after you eat. Your sugars should stay under 8-ish. If they're hovering around this level (or higher) going for a walk or modifying what you're eating can bring your sugars down.